High school academies to make for busy CBA summer
Don't expect many days off for the College of Business
Administration this summer.
Beginning in June CBA and partners in the Omaha community
will offer two programs—Latina Summer Academy and the Maverick Summer
Entrepreneurship Institute—that offer high school students the opportunity to
learn about, and try their hand at, business.
Latina Summer Academy
The fourth annual Latina Summer Academy offers entering
Latina high school sophomores an opportunity to participate in a residential
college experience while showing them that college and professional careers are
obtainable and achievable. Students and their chaperons will stay on campus in
University Village.
The six-day Academy encourages
Latinas to participate in business, science and math classes, and to complete
high school and continue to college. The focus of the Academy is on
applications of math, science and technology to practical business problems.
Research shows that many girls in their early teens tend to lose interest in
science and math. CBA faculty and administrators encourage young Latinas to
realize the value of these knowledge areas.
CBA will collaborate with the AIM Institute and Omaha's
Chicano Awareness Center. The AIM Institute will sponsor a technology project
whereby participants will plan, film, edit, produce and premier a digital video
of their experience.
The Chicano Awareness Center will guide experiences
outside the classroom to help Latinas recognize their own success potential.
Activities will introduce teamwork skills, personal development and career
information/planning. Ongoing interaction with peers, adult role models and
guest speakers are designed to enhance participants' self-awareness,
self-esteem and self-confidence.
The Latina Summer Academy kicks off and concludes with
evening receptions for parents, students and teachers. Local foundations and
businesses help sponsor the Academy and defray its costs.
For more information contact
Chicano Awareness Center Executive Director Rebecca Valdez at (402) 733-2720 or
rvaldez@cacinc.org.
Photo: Participants in the 2004 Latina Summer Academy.
Maverick Summer Entrepreneurship Institute
CBA in June also debuts its Maverick Summer
Entrepreneurship Institute, an innovative program for entrepreneurial-minded
minority students entering their senior years within Omaha Public Schools.
Funded by corporate partners with leadership from First National Bank of Omaha,
the seven-week Institute begins June 13 under the direction of CBA management
Professor Anne York.
"We hope to attract enterprising, creative students who
may not fit into more traditional programs," says York, who teaches
undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship.
"Many of these students come from families who own small
businesses. Or, the students themselves sold roses for the prom or had lemonade
stands when they were younger. They already know they are interested in
business."
Students will be introduced to concepts and skills needed
to run a business during the program's first week. They then will apply their
skills as paid interns ($8/hr.), working full time for six weeks on projects at
local small businesses or not-for-profit organizations. Students will form
teams to learn firsthand the value of working together toward a business goal
and will keep journals detailing their internship experiences and any questions
that arise.
UNO faculty will supervise the projects and meet with
teams twice each week to monitor progress, facilitate discussion and assist as
needed. Also meeting with students will be guest speakers from an array of
Omaha-area businesses, along with supervisors and owners of organizations where
students are working on projects.
Teams will conclude the program by presenting
recommendations to their client organizations via written and oral
presentations. Insights and lessons learned from their experiences will be
included in the project reports. Students receive three "Introduction to
Business" credit hours at UNO upon successful completion of the program.
For more information, or to offer an internship project
for a student team, contact York by phone (554-3986) or email
(anneyork@mail.unomaha.edu), or visit http://cba.unomaha.edu/mei
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